Counsel for the defence of Louis XVI / Died at 73 (1721-1794) / The 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica writes of him: “Malesherbes is one of the sweetest characters of the 18th century; though no man of action, hardly a man of the world, by his charity and unfeigned goodness he became one of the most popular men in France, and it was an act of truest self-devotion in him to sacrifice himself for a king who had done little or nothing for him.”

Jacques Necker

Swiss-born finance minister of Louis XVI / Died at 71 (1732-1804)

Marquis de Sade

Author of erotica and delegate to the National Convention / Died at 74 (1740-1814) after having spent 32 years of his life in prison

Madame du Barry

Last Maîtresse-en-titre of Louis XV of France / accused of treason; she vainly attempted to save herself by revealing the hiding places of the gems she had hidden / Died at 50 (1743-1793); collapsed on the way to the guillotine and cried 'You are going to hurt me! Why?!' Terrified, she screamed for mercy and begged the indifferent crowd for help. Her last words to the executioner were: 'One more moment, Mr. Executioner, I beg you!'

Jean-Paul Marat

Radical journalist and politician / Died at 50 (1743-1794), stabbed in his bathtub

Antoine Lavoisier

Chemist / accused by Jean-Paul Marat of selling adulterated tobacco and of other crimes / Died at 50 (1743-1794)

Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans

Member of the Royal Family and supporter of the French Revolution, having adopted the name 'Philippe Égalité' / Died at 46 (1747-1793); He was granted a final wish to have a gracious dinner before his execution but, having been stripped of all assets upon his arrest, was unable to take advantage of this concession.

Olympe de Gouges

Political activist and author of feminist and abolitionist writings / was denied her legal right to a lawyer, on the grounds that she would be more than capable of representing herself / Died at 45 (1748-1793)

Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès

Clergyman and political writer / Died at 88 (1748-1836)

Jacques-Louis David

Painter / effectively a dictator of the arts under the French Republic / Died at 77 (1748-1825) after a carriage accident

Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau

Politician / Died at 42 (1749-1791) due to illness or poisoning

Jacques Roux

Priest and politician / Died at 41 (1752-1794); stabbed himself to avoid conviction

Pierre Victurnien Vergniaud

Lawyer and politician / Died at 40 (1753-1793); on the way to the scaffold sang the Marseillaise together with fellow Girondists

Manon Roland

Member of the Girondists, wife of the minister of the interior / Died at 39 (1754-1793); Before placing her head on the block, she bowed before the clay statue of Liberty in the Place de la Révolution, uttering the words “Oh Liberty, what crimes are committed in thy name!”. Two days after her execution, her husband, Jean-Marie Roland, committed suicide on a country lane outside Rouen.

Louis XVI of France

King of France / Died at 39 (1754-1793)

Marie Antoinette

Queen consort of France / Died at 38 (1755-1793)

Hans Axel von Fersen

Swedish military, diplomate and statesmen; close friend of Marie Antoinette / Died at 54 (1755-1810); died at the hands of a Stockholm lynch mob

Jacques Hébert

Radical journalist and politician / Died at 37 (1757-1794) / Fainted several times on the way to the guillotine and screamed hysterically when he was placed under the blade. Hébert's executioners amused the crowd by adjusting the guillotine so that its blade stopped inches above his neck. Only on the fourth attempt was the execution carried out.

Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette

Military officer / Died at 76 (1757-1834)

Maximilien Robespierre

Lawyer and politician / Died at 36 (1758-1794); tried to commit suicide by gunshot to his head before being guillotined but failed and wound up only with a mangled jaw

Georges Danton

Politician / Died at 35 (1759-1794)

Camille Desmoulins

Journalist and politician / Died at 34 (1760-1794)

Antoine Barnave

Politician; one of the three appointed to conduct the Royal Family back to Paris after their flight to Varennes; noted for his correspondence with Marie Antoinette / Died at 32 (1761-1793)